Robert Kelly: “What if Ron Paul Won”–Japan and South Korea

J/ASW pal Robert Kelly, assistant professor at Pusan National University and CNN contributor, has a series of posts at Asian Security Blog speculating on how a Ron Paul presidency would affect U.S. relations with a variety of its neighbors and traditional allies.

Regarding Japan, Robert says in part:

The real reason for [U.S. Forces Japan] is to keep Korea and China calm by keeping Japan ‘down,’ but honestly, the longer I live out here, the more I think the America’s presence freezes East Asia’s history and territory issues in place, rather than helps resolve them.

South Korea:

SK’s GDP is at least 25x NK’s. Its military technology is two generations ahead. Its social capacity – health, education, institutional durability – vastly outstrip its opponent. Like Israel, SK needed us once, but not really anymore. Like the EU and Japan, wealthy SK has ‘graduated’ from the need for serious US extended deterrence.

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A contributor and editor at the blog War Is Boring, Kyle Mizokami started Japan Security Watch in 2010 to further understand Japan's defenses and security policy.
Kyle Mizokami has 29 post(s) on Asia Security Watch